Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 468 - 438 Invasion of "Paradise

Chapter 468: 438 Invasion of "Paradise

Even though the "Preacher" now looks pitiful, I haven’t forgotten the arrogance he subtly hinted at when he first appeared. Moreover, I don’t believe he genuinely doesn’t understand why Taoyuan Village is considered an enemy by Luo Mountain.

From my personal standpoint, there’s no real reason to prevent others from dreaming, yet for an organization like Luo Mountain, allowing the establishment of a "Utopian Realm" is quite unreasonable. Firstly, in my understanding, the Diviner is highly unlikely to agree. He seems to have considerable expectations about helping human civilization reach the interstellar era, and a spiritual utopia created merely to satisfy current human desires goes against his expectations.

Other Impermanences I have encountered also don’t seem like the kind to entrust their lives and souls to a "Utopian Realm". However, Fa Zheng might hold some positive views about the "Utopian Realm," but only if he himself directs it. Since he hasn’t made any moves related to this, it likely means he doesn’t intend to take this path.

And those regular demon hunters, unless they plan to join the "Utopian Realm," will mostly not stand by idly. Whether it’s Governance Ideology or Extraordinaryism, they are essentially ruling ideologies. Recognizing a "Utopian Realm" equates to allowing a massive loss of social human resources. From this perspective, any organization not planning to join the "Utopian Realm," including official state entities, would not allow its smooth establishment.

The establishment of a utopian world would cause unprecedented destruction to the inherent meaning of society’s existence. Anyone who is strongly dissatisfied with reality, believes they cannot change their future living conditions, or is unwilling to continue putting time and effort into changing their lives, might pursue joining the "Utopian Realm".

Although mainstream social thought advocates that people should unconditionally embrace reality and that indulging in and defending virtual dreams is an absolutely wrong value, over time, as the pursuit of dreams prevails, new values will emerge. By then, "unconditionally embracing reality" might become the wrong value in the public’s mind.

Aside from this, in the final stage of the Peach Blossom Land Master’s plan, an ultimate entity called the "Utopian Realm" will emerge, and we have no idea about the kind of ideological texture it will develop on its own.

The "Preacher," who intends to live within the "Utopian Realm," probably never considered how that ultimate entity would act in the outside world, but as someone living externally, I must think about how to face that incomprehensible force.

Formed by those who are pessimistic, negative, or even desperate about the real world and willing to escape into a dreamscape, how can I imagine it harboring friendly feelings towards our world?

The "Utopian Realm" that I perceive possesses at least a hundred times my mana, and unsurprisingly, this is likely just the tip of the iceberg. It’s hard to imagine the terrifying power it may demonstrate once fully established. And it’s no joke to say that if someone were to predict that this ultimate entity called the "Utopian Realm" would cause a future doomsday, I couldn’t question its feasibility, at least not from the perspective of whether it’s possible to achieve.

It’s not that I cannot accept the arrival of such an existence in the world, but what would others think?

The interrogation was nearly over. After a few more questions, we temporarily had no more queries. The "Preacher" once again begged me to spar his soul. Zhu Shi looked at me with questioning eyes about what to do next, while Xiaoqiao closed her mouth and watched silently. And I began my next course of action.

"Since you have a connection with the ’Utopian Realm,’ I will use this link to see what this ’Utopian Realm’ is all about."

While speaking, I left behind a "firefly" near Zhu Shi and Xiaoqiao, and then took out the Fake Water Moon from the flames.

Zhu Shi was immediately startled and asked, "What are you going to do?"

Of course, I’m going to actually infiltrate the "Utopian Realm" to have a look.

The abnormal "wound" existing on the "Utopian Realm" connected to the "Preacher" is likely the mark left when Ying Lingyun tore off power resources from it in the past. Although it’s unclear how he did it, Ying Lingyun probably didn’t have the Taoyuan Village Master’s consent when requisitioning these power resources.

He might have exploited his cooperative relationship with the Taoyuan Village Master and secretly hacked into the "Utopian Realm" through some unknown means. Despite sounding like gibberish, Ying Lingyun is indeed an absurd character capable of performing miracles that even many Impermanences cannot achieve.

And since Ying Lingyun can do it, why can’t I?

Aiming the Fake Water Moon at the helpless "Preacher," I directed it towards his eyes. Spiritual mana fluctuations spread out, and my consciousness hacked into his soul. Under my conscious control, my awareness followed his connection and drove straight into the mystical "Utopian Realm."

This approach is indeed risky. After all, the "Utopian Realm" is a time-space created by Illusion Techniques, and possesses far greater power than mine. It’s possible I may be captured by this Illusion Technique instead.

On the other hand, I can also make a clear judgment: at present, the "Utopian Realm" lacks any subjective will. At least at this stage, it is still a developing structure, like a building. Even when torn from the outside, it has never shown any active or direct retaliation.

Originally, I shouldn’t have had the chance to infiltrate it. Thanks to the wound Ying Lingyun left behind, I found a loophole equivalent to a back door into a steel fortress.

My vision quickly faded into darkness, and the "Preacher," Zhu Shi, and Xiaoqiao vanished from my side. Fortunately, with a bit of sensing, I could perceive the scene in reality through the "firefly" I left in place. My consciousness felt like it was passing through a narrow tunnel, and after a short time, it emerged from the other side.

What reappeared in my vision was no longer the upper floors of the unfinished building but had turned into a grey, old corridor. It was reminiscent of the hallways within any office building, except there were no windows or doors on either side, giving it a maze-like impression.

——Is this the "Utopian Realm"?

Something seems off no matter how I look at it. Given the name Utopian Realm, I assumed that the inner environment of this Illusion Technique space would be more vibrant with birdsong and flowers, or at least have a warm and comforting aura. This bleak scene in front of me is vastly different from my imagination. Moreover, this scene gives me a sense of déjà vu, as if I’ve visited this place before.

I quickly remembered that a long time ago, I and Zhu Shi were trapped in a maze-like alternate space by an Undying Monster using a secret tool. The maze-like alternate space at that time was very similar to this view.

The Undying Monster’s secret tool was given by the Monster Maker, who is a "potential clone" of Ying Lingyun... Could it be that long ago, Zhu Shi and I had already entered the "Utopian Realm"? Or was the maze-like alternate space back then just a time-space crafted by Ying Lingyun, mimicking the "Utopian Realm’s" scene?

Perhaps it’s because I’m now an Impermanence, with much sharper perception than before, that I can sense more information from this maze-like alternate space compared to before. This place exudes a cold, resistant aura, reminiscent of a town unfriendly to outsiders, with every wall seemingly faintly expressing "go away."

A judgment gradually formed in my mind. This is probably not the real "Utopian Realm." It’s not that I’ve invaded the wrong place, but rather my presence might be akin to a virus attempting to hack a computer. After all, unlike Ying Lingyun, I lack the sophisticated techniques needed. When I violently hacked into this place as an intruder, I was probably identified by its internal immune system and subsequently transferred into an "isolation zone."

So, assuming the enemy hiding in the shadows has discovered me through this mechanism, what will they do next?

The moment I realized this, an extremely dangerous feeling surged into my heart. I immediately retreated, retreating at least a thousand meters away, smashing through walls along the way as I escaped, while the spot I had been standing suddenly erupted with an azure thunderbolt. One must be far away to recognize it as a thunderbolt, for it was incredibly thick, like a bridge’s load-bearing column being used to crush an ant.

The power of the azure giant thunderbolt crashing to the ground was like a creation of heaven and earth, transforming into countless electric glows that roared throughout like a storm, with earsplitting, mighty rumbling sounds that could shatter bodies. The maze-like structure collapsed in an instant, and even the place I was in was affected. As far as the eye could see, all the walls and floors were completely shattered, surrounded by debris cascading like waterfalls.

And at the location of the thunderbolt’s descent, I saw a giant hand composed entirely of azure radiance.

A tear opened in the palm of the giant hand. It wasn’t a wound; it looked more like a mouth. Then, from that mouth, an eyeball emerged.

The cold eyeball fixed its gaze on me, and the mouth holding the eyeball moved up and down, emitting a murky sound.

"——Zhuang Cheng."

This entity uttered my name.

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